Educational Media Reviews Online

Emmy Award-winning producer Sarah Colt’s first independent feature documentary, The Disrupted, casts a light on the human consequence of corporate greed in America. Poignantly revealed through the struggles of three workers, the familiar story of the broken American Dream is artfully woven together. While there are moments of hope and resiliency, a sense of melancholy and forlornness is cast throughout the film as the subjects’ lives are intimately unveiled. Without being overtly political, the film manages to critique the post-2008 capitalist economy by documenting the plight of regular hard-working folks trying to do right by their families as the middle class continues to be, as one of the subjects puts it, “squeezed out of existence.”

Donn, a fifth-generation farmer in Kansas, grapples with the prospect of selling off half of the farmland that has been in his family since 1904. With the corporate consolidation of farms, Donn is one of many small American farmers struggling to survive. If he does not sell off a good portion of land, he will have no choice but to pass down a significant amount of debt to his children. Despite health concerns, Donn continues to play a significant role in fighting for small farms in Kansas as the Kansas Farmers Union President.

A few states to the east, Pete, a factory worker in Ohio, is laid-off with over 135 others after over a decade of service to the 3M corporation. This is a story Pete is all too familiar with as his own father also lost his job in a similar fashion, forcing him to grow up struggling below the poverty line. With the increased stress from the loss of health insurance, job searching, and bills to pay, Pete’s family dynamics are strained. As Pete looks into taking up a new trade, he is increasingly frustrated by the emphasis on training good workers rather than teaching people how to start their own businesses or invest money.

Meanwhile, in Central Florida, Cheryl takes up gig work as a Lyft and Uber driver to make ends meet. After the housing market imploded in 2008, Cheryl and thousands of other Floridians have not fared well in the post-recession recovery. While Lyft and Uber provided a reprieve initially, these companies have continuously slashed rates at the expense of their drivers. Cheryl attempts to get her fellow drivers to strike, but other drivers eagerly pick up the waiting customers who are typically in high demand.

All three stories build, culminating on the Fourth of July. As the subjects are gathered below the celebratory fireworks with their families, the question remains, what are we celebrating? Despite the toils and trials, the film is infused with hope. Hope in the fight, hope in workers standing together against corporate greed, and the possibility of change through organized labor and solidarity. One of the strong suits of the film is how these three distinct stories are so cohesively synthesized. From the outside, these three individuals do not appear to have all that much in common. By the end, the film makes it clear they are all fighting the same demon of corporate greed.

The Disrupted was shot pre-COVID. As more families struggle and as wealth disparities continue to grow, the relevancy of this film has only increased. This film would be appropriate for courses in American studies, political science, history, sociology, and a variety of other disciplines.

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